Caritas Internationalis launches global campaign against hunger

FAO supports call of Caritas International to realize the right to food for everybody and to cut food waste

The global campaign against hunger launched by the Caritas confederation is an important contribution to raise awareness of the plight of millions of hungry people around the globe and to work towards the elimination of hunger, said Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO's Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development.

The campaign ‘One Human Family, Food for All’ was launched in Rome with a video message of Pope Francis.

In his message, the Pope said that “We are facing a global scandal of around one billion people who still suffer from hunger today. We cannot look the other way. The food that is currently available worldwide is enough to feed everyone... This campaign is also an invitation to all of us to become more conscious in our food choices, which often lead to waste and a poor use of the resources available to us.”

“FAO fully supports Caritas’ campaign because in our global human family, it is unacceptable that while some people have enough to eat, and sometimes even eat too much, others go hungry or even lose their lives or the lives of their children to hunger,” Villarreal said.

“It is very important that a key international, non-governmental organization like Caritas Internationalis focuses on the scandal of hunger and urges institutions and each of us to fight undernourishment ,” Villarreal said.“

“The objectives of the Caritas campaign, like cutting food waste, maximizing land use for food production, supporting women farmers and realizing the right to food, among other things, are at the core of FAO’s mandate,” she added.

“Civil society organizations, like Caritas Internationalis with its 164 member organizations, are crucial in the fight against hunger, because they have the enormous advantage to reach out to so many different layers of society,” Villarreal continued.

“We particularly welcome that Caritas is asking all its member organizations to create national goals which address hunger issues in their countries. FAO also welcomes Caritas’ decision to produce a draft framework law on the right to food which its national member organizations can encourage governments to adopt.”

The Caritas campaign, ‘One Human Family – Food for All,” started on the Pacific Island of Samoa followed by a “wave of prayer” around the globe.